Introducing Season 2 of The Kibitz!
Shane Hankins
Our Jew-Ish podcast, The Kibitz, is back with weekly episodes for season two with actress and comedian Jessica Chaffin (Ronna, of comedy duo “Ronna & Beverly”) joining as co-host with Dan Crane. Named “one of the Top 10 Jewish Podcasts,” by Moment magazine, The Kibitz is about asking interesting questions—some big, many little—and exploring all you’ve ever wanted to know about Judaism through a humorous, cultural lens.
Among the questions The Kibitz explores in season two are: “Can you be a Jew and an atheist?,” “Can $50,000 buy a Jewish community?,” and "What does the Catskills have to do with Wilt Chamberlain and Mel Brooks?" Once again, Dan welcomes his 96-year-old grandma, whose jokes about death and insight into the immigration crisis are not to be missed.
In the first season, Dan Crane hosted insightful conversations about the rise in anti-Semitism, Jews and comedy, Jewish education, noshing, kosher meat and animal welfare, lesser-known Jewish holidays, unplugging for Shabbat, religious and gender fluidity, and Frank Sinatra’s surprising lifelong history of Jewish activism. The Kibitz has been featured on Splitsider.com, JWeekly.com, and was listed as one of the top-10 Jewish podcasts in Moment Magazine.
Listen to the first episode of the second season now on Jewish Atheism.
Can Jews be atheists and still be Jews? The hosts explore the question of Jewish atheism with Rabbi Susan Goldberg of LA's Wilshire Boulevard Temple, president of American Atheists David Silverman, British comedian David Baddiel, and founder and president emeritus of the Secular Coalition for America Herb Silverman.
Check out what topics we have planned for the second season:
● What Makes a Jewish Community – Has the decade-old program offering $50,000 to Jews to relocate to Dothan, Alabama succeeded?
● Immigration and Refugees – The legacy of Jews as refugees and why Jews are on the front lines of the current battles over immigration and Syrian refugees.
● Jews & Psychedelics – Was Moses tripping when he saw the burning bush? The secret history of Jews and drugs.
● Jewish Women Leaders – From the ‘Uprising of the 20,000’ to the Hollywood pay gap—women leaders of the labor movement.
● The Catskills – How and why did Jews end up witnessing the birth of standup comedy in upstate NY, and why did this sprawling vacation community die out?
● Death – What’s the Jewish notion of what happens when we die, how has it changed over time, and what’s “Death Over Dinner, Jewish Edition”?
● The False Lens of History – The photos of Roman Vishniak, the tale of America’s first Jewish murderer, and how our perception of history is shaped by the artifacts of an era.
Stream on SoundCloud and Stitcher.
The Hosts:
Dan Crane is a journalist, musician, Jew (lax, loves lox) and retired professional air-guitarist. He writes about culture and travel for the New York Times, Wall Street
Journal, California Sunday, Slate, and numerous other publications. He’s the author of “To Air is Human” and stars in the documentary, Air Guitar Nation.
Jessica Chaffin (@jessicachaffin) is an American actress, comedian, and writer perhaps best known as Ronna of the comedy duo "Ronna & Beverly." Other credits include Veep, Spy, The Heat, the animated show Big Mouth out on Netflix 9/29, and the upcoming season of Search Party.